New MOVE Games

Tis the Season to MOVE - New PS3 Move Games Rated by Matt Adcock: 

If you like your video games a bit more active than just literally twiddling your thumbs then PlayStation Move motion controller is a great place to start. Combined with the PlayStation Eye Camera you become the star of the show, the hero at the centre of the battle or the sportsman with the skills to make the opposition stop and stare…

This Christmas there are some new MOVE experiences to go alongside the superb Killzone 3 and Resistance 3 Move enabled shooters. – but which are worthy of your cash?

Start the Party!: Save the World (PS3)

This is the follow up to one of the launch line up of Move games – Start The Party! – which brought a fun collection of augmented reality mini games to the erm, party…

Save The World adds a new set of 20 games loosely linked by a baddie (Dr Terrible) who you have to try and defeat. The main addition here is that you can multiplay with other players trying to put you off using a standard DualShock controller – a great way to spice up the game play!

The Playstation Move works beautifully – the games are easy to control and works especially well in games that require you to draw things on screen (something they really doesn’t work well with Kinnect etc). Start the Party: Save the World packs some great cartoon graphics too but here’s the problem… It’s just too short and there isn’t a great deal of incentive to replay the mini-games.

So if looking for a fun blast e.g. to play with a bunch of kids or excitable young people or tipsy adults, but this really isn’t a game you’ll find yourself playing single player long into the night.
Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öö1/2

2.5 – fun for short bursts but not for a long haul

EyePet &Friends (PS3)

Say hello again to my little (virtual) friend… And this time he’s brought some pals so you can nurture and play with a whole bunch of cute critters.

EyePet & Friends builds on the cute first game – the MOVE controls are great and more intuitive the range of things you can do with your cheeky little Eyepets is greater… And two people can play at the same time!?

It’s a satisfying feeling drawing a picture in front of the PlayStation Eye camera and then seeing the PS3 create the actual 3D model of your drawing on screen e.g. a car which you can then control.

So if you’re in need of a new pet (one which doesn’t shed hair or scratch your real world furniture) then this is a fun option – especially with kids who can torment / love their new little charges and in turn be kept amused for many hours.

EyePet & Friends does exactly what you’d expect it to – brings a virtual creature into your house and gives you the tools to have mucho fun with it!
Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö1/2

3.5 – get some virtual furballs in you life

Carnival Island (PS3)

Wanna set up a fully functional carnival in your house – but don’t fancy hosting a bunch of pikey non tax paying miscreant to run the rides for you and take all you cash? Well You’re in luck as God Of War developer Sony Santa Monica drops the bloodshed and brings the fun in this stylish mini-game-em-up – think Hoops, Ring-Toss and Coin Flip etc all of which use the PlayStation MOVE controller's excellent accuracy to test your skills.

Plus there are Bowls, Pitch, Shooting Gallery, Frog Bog (kind of whack-a-mole) – each game is nicely worked and looks great. The MOVE is a very nice control mechanism which gives much more satisfaction in terms of tracking movement than the Wii.

There are even additional tools like a fun Magic Mirror which will distort your look and allow you to snap some funny photos which can then form the loading screens...

It all plays really well – I wasn’t expecting much from this title but it is actually one of the most fun MOVE experiences you can have and just great for a party atmosphere where you can take turns to beat each other’s scores.

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö1/2

4.5 – something fun this way comes!

Medieval Moves: Deadmund’s Quest (PS3)

If you’re a MOVE veteran, the chances are that you will have played the excellent Sports Champions – one of the best elements of which was a sword and shield battle sim. Now the makers of Sports Champions are back and gone is the tight fitting spandex, in is armour and more weapons – which you’ll need to battle a horde of undead enemies!?

Deadmund’s Quest is a cartoon fantasy title about young Prince Edmund who becomes skeleton when he crosses evil sorcerer Morgrimm. So as a skeletal warrior you embark on some Medieval Moves – an action game that sees you acting out the combat moves required to vanquish many baddies and save the day.

It’s the excellent 1:1 motion movements of swinging your sword (you can attack high or low, stab or slash) that makes this such a fun game to play. You’ll need to bring your defense skills too though as blocking enemy attacks will keep you alive.

"the bigger they come..."

The game also gives you ranged weapons in the form of a trusty bow (which controls just like Sports Champions brilliant archery game) and throwing stars. As Deadmund you move along automatically, stopping to do battle with waves of enemies in order to free their spirits. Enemies ramp up from basic skeletons through to armoured knights, magic users and other beasties.

Health is replenished by enacting drinking of a bottle of milk, which is a fun touch. The single player campaign is a short blast but there is real mileage in playing this in multiplayer with a tasty battle mode (also playable online) where you can fight other humans, and an Invasion mode where you fight as long as possible until you fall.

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö1/2

4.5 – hack n slash for real in a cartoon fantasy world and feel every blow

"She wants you to MOVE"

Conclusion:

Medieval Moves is the pick of the new MOVE games out there due to the sheer excitement factor but Carnival Island is also very worthy of your time… Get both for Christmas and work off some of the festive food!?